Meet Ottawa

Visibly inspired by nature with its leaf-shape and curved design, the Ottawa dining chair is truly a unique piece of design furniture.

Once you are seated, you will discover that the Ottawa chair is not only characteristic in looks, but also in comfort. The twig-like legs on Ottawa add to the organic chair design, completing its unique look. At the same time, the sculptured seat without upholstery highlights the clean lines and minimal form.

Leaf Shape
The leaf shaped back underlines Karim Rashid´s dedication to nature. This feature makes the chair stand out as an iconic dining chair.

Leg Design
The four pod leg design in different materials is an untraditional construction that gives the chair a refined and unique look. Also available with a wooden frame, the leg designs highlight the natural look of the seat.

Matching seat Pad
The Morgan seat pad is designed to fit the shape of the seat and adds both comfort and softness to the overall design.

A Coordinated Expression
The chair fits most dining areas, but works especially great with the Ottawa dining table and sideboard.

See how the Ottawa will look in your project

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Meet the designer

Karim Rashid is one of the most creative designers of his generation. His portfolio counts a great number of designs in different categories, ranging from furniture and accessories to store designs and luxury goods. For Karim, it is important that his designs move people and make them feel at ease while still maintaining a clean and minimalist look. His beautiful Ottawa dining set for BoConcept won a Red Dot Award.

Karim Rashid was born in 1960, in Egypt, to his Egyptian father and English mother. He and his family, including his older brother, the famed architect Hani Rashid, lived in England, and would later settle in Canada. Creativity forms the backdrop to some of Karim’s earliest memories.

"My father is a painter, an artist, and he was also a set designer for television. I remember being five years old in London, and he would take me sketching. We would go and sketch churches. I remember drawing hundreds of churches at the age of five. Every church in London, I think. [Creativity] was both a little bit in my DNA, but also [learnt] behaviourally by watching my father. "

After industrial design studies in Canada and Italy, and over a decade of work for various high-profile studios, Karim opened his own New York studio in 1993. The designer believes his diverse background has contributed to his work and success. "It is my diversity that affords me the ability to cross-pollinate ideas, materials, behaviours, aesthetics, and language from one typology to the other. I see myself as shaping human experiences and moving our physical landscape forward. "

That success has birthed one of the most prolific design careers of recent decades, with more than 3000 designs in production and over 300 awards. His portfolio for BoConcept includes the Ottawa collection, comprising a sideboard, an extendable dining table, and chairs, all inspired by Canada’s forests. In 2017, Karim added the Ottawa sofa system, a scalable, organically shaped, 10-module system, designed for both home and contract situations.

Karim speaks of employing his philosophy of sensual minimalism, which he defines as soft, comfortable, human, with character, yet reductive. The collections have received Red Dot, Good Design and iF awards. But for Karim, accolades don’t equate to success.

"I define success by consumers liking the work – not by awards or museums. My most successful works were all extremely functional and made life easier, they imbued some flexibility in them or were very comfortable, and had a good production technology to produce them. They were all minimal yet sensual and human."

Would you like more information about BoConcept Contract products?
Visit us in-store, call us at 020 7383 3226, or email us at tradelondon@boconcept.co.uk

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